Deposition of William Blackwell, March 1880

WILLIAM BLACKWELL, of the Township of Biddulph saith: — I live at Whalen’s Corners, in Biddulph; I am a near neighbor of William Donnelly; I am his next neighbor on the south side nearest to the kitchen door of Donnelly’s house: I remember the time of John Donnelly’s death: I heard shots: I heard one first [...] I heard 5 or 6 afterwards; [...] I was in bed; I went to the window; I saw the reflection of a fire in the direction of the old Donnelly homestead; I did not look towards William Donnelly’s house; if I did look, I could not see it; [...] in the morning before daylight William Donnelly came to my place and said they shot his brother Jack; I said, who did it and he said they done it; he asked me if I heard the shots; I told him I did; I then went in and looked at John; he was lying dead in William’s bedroom [...] I saw tracks up to William’s bed-room window [...] I suppose from the tracks, there were such as 15 or 20 men might make: I did not like to get up, for fear I would get in some rumpus [...]

Source: Public Archives of Ontario, Irving Fonds, F1027, 82 80, MS6500, Unknown, Deposition of William Blackwell, March 31, 1880.

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